The Merry Wives of Windsor

[smallhobbit]

The prospect of seeing a Shakespeare played I'd never seen plus David Troughton in the main role as Falstaff, brought us back to Stratford-upon-Avon for the first time in ten months.  Not having been too impressed with the last couple of plays we'd seen there, we were hoping for something better this time.

Spoilers for the production follow:

I really enjoyed it.  David Troughton in a fat suit, made an excellent Falstaff, and the rest of the company were equally good.  The play has been brought up to date, but at the same time it was designed so it didn't feel like it was trying to make Elizabethan references struggle to fit in with a modern setting.  The costumes were half modern and half Elizabethan - that is, a character could for instance be wearing a suit, but the jacket would be a doublet.  It sounds bizarre, but worked very well.

In place of the wash basket Falstaff hides in, there's a pink wheelie bin.  There's a remote control golf caddy, which runs amok.  There's slapstick humour.  At one point the audience are called on to sing the end of 'Bread of Heaven' by the Welsh priest.  It's a production which isn't taking itself too seriously, and yet still having a decidedly feminist take.

The staging was impressive.  The RST is a thrust stage and at one end there were two buildings which rotated depending on where the characters were supposed to be.  The furniture was moved by the actors in a way which was in keeping with the action.  The live musicians, as ever, were very good.

I'd say it was the most enjoyable play I've seen in a while.

Comments

[scfrankles]

This sounds like such an interesting production - I've just been looking at a few photographs ^___^ Pleased to hear you had a good time!

[smallhobbit]

The photos give a very good idea of what the production was like. It was fun (not something you get to say often about Shakespeare).